Life Church Fort Bend

What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. James 2:14-17 (New Living Translation)

Are you ready to get going, to serve others in a way that will impact those served, yourself, and your family? This booklet gives you a selection of nonprofit organizations, some local, some global, where God’s is working and where you can also show God’s love to your neighbors and throughout the world! There are thousands of organizations we can help, but we would like for us to focus on a few so we can make a bigger impact, rather than spreading our resources too thin.

Local Missions:

1. OUTREACH: FAMILY FUN DAY AT THE PARK

Saturday, August 14; 9 am. — 3 pm. at Travis Park, Rosenberg
Monetary donations for shoes needed Friday, 7/23…Make check to LC & memo “shoes.”
Sign up to help on site that day by contact or 281.240.4758

2. East Fort Bend Human Needs Ministry, Inc.
3. Fort Bend Seniors
4. Fort Bend Corps’ Hearts & Hammers
5. The Mission of Yahweh

Global Missions:

1. Hearts In Motion
2. Kids Against Hunger
3. Feed The Children

If you would like to work with other LIFEGroups or small groups, contact Marcia McGinnis at , or 281.684.9741, and she will assist you in identifying other “work crews” with whom you can partner.

LOCAL MISSIONS

EAST FORT BEND HUMAN NEEDS MINISTRY, INC.

Street Address: 425 Stafford Run; Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1611, Stafford, TX 77497-1611; Phone 281/261-1006; Website: http://www.humanneeds.org

“Tuning-out hunger with humility & compassion since 1990.”

Living close to home are many people who do not have the resources to feed their families. EFBHNM is a local nonprofit that provides bags of groceries each week to its clients. Their mission in Fort Bend County is to address the basic human needs of a family during a temporary financial crisis, while respecting the dignity and value of every individual. They believe that faith is expressed in caring for the poor, the homeless, and all who have no access to the abundant resources our society possesses. In addition to food, they can sometimes provide assistance with utilities.

Serving opportunities are easy and diverse: receptionist, client interviewers, room worker, order puller, office and clerical assistance, special events/fundraising, or assistance in the resale shop as described on their website. They also have an “adopt a family” program. EFBHNM is also a great place to donate nonperishable foods, your abundant homegrown produce, household cleaning and toiletry items, and gently used furniture and clothing for their resale shop that raises funds for their programs. Their website includes a Volunteer Application and Release form; a Volunteer Information Sheet is attached.

FORT BEND SENIORS

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1488; Street Address: 1330 Band Rd.,Rosenberg, TX 77471; Phone: 281.633.7049; Website: www.fortbendseniors.org

“Committed to helping seniors remain independent by enhancing their quality of life through services and resources.”

Fort Bend Seniors strives to assist seniors in maintaining and improving their dignity, independence, and quality of life by providing nutritious meals, transportation, homemaker services and social services. Meals on Wheels delivers to homebound seniors one hot meal daily 5 or more days per week. As a volunteer you can visit with the client and deliver meals as it fits into your schedule.

Some homebound seniors may be living in homes in a state of disrepair, and this agency can assist volunteer teams in finding an opportunity to make necessary improvements to their homes. Fort Bend Seniors’ representative will consider the volunteer teams’ skills, time constraints and resources and match the team’s constraints and talents to a homeowner’s needs. This is a great opportunity for a LIFEGroup and family members to take on a project in a weekend or two, in renovating and improving the life and living conditions of a senior citizen.

If your group is interested in renovating a senior citizen’s home, contact the organization as indicated above.

FORT BEND COMMUNITY REVITALIZATION PROJECTS

Address: One Fluor Daniel Drive, Mail Code 12, Sugar Land, Texas 77478;Phone 281-313-2677; email: ; Website: www.fbcorps.org

"Improving the Quality of Life in Fort Bend County One Home at a Time"

The CORPS home repair programs:

▪ Restore basic housing requirements to provide safe, sanitary, and decent housing so homeowners can continue to live comfortably in their own homes;

▪ Encourage and reassure those living in difficult circumstances;

▪ Retain mature, moral, and ethical influences in neighborhoods.

Donations are vital in allowing the organization to improve the quality of life in Fort Bend County, one home at a time. Future repair projects depend on community support in the form of monetary donations, in-kind donations, and volunteer work crews.

The CORPS has 3 programs, two of which are for skilled professionals. The third, Hearts and Hammers, is for volunteers of all skill levels, focused on exterior repairs.

Hearts and Hammers is a volunteer-driven home repair program that restores the exterior of homes each April and October. Selected homes are primarily wood sided, need scraping and painting. Other tasks may include siding replacement, window repair, caulking, porch repair, step and wheelchair ramp construction, yard cleanup and trash removal. The CORPS locates and qualifies the homeowner, determines the scope of work, and provides all necessary paint and building materials by raising money through private donations. Local corporations, churches, schools, and civic associations sponsor volunteer crews of 15-35 people including a crew leader. These volunteer crews perform all the work and supply their own tools, ladders, scrapers, paintbrushes, hammers, and compassion. For a Crew Commitment Form, go to the Fort Bend CORPS website.

THE MISSION OF YAHWEH

A Non-Denominational Christian Shelter

10247 Algiers, Houston, TX 77041; phone (713) 466-4785; Website: www.missionofyahweh.org. Mission Director: Dee Johnson.

This is an opportunity to be a missionary in our backyard! The Mission of Yahweh is a faith-based shelter that Empowers, Enriches and Restores the lives of homeless women and children and provides outreach services to low income communities. The Mission offers many life-changing programs focused on ending the cycle of dependency in the areas of Education (life skills, bible study, support groups, etc.), Case Management, Responsible Resident Program, and Spiritual Counseling. They also hold chapel services on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings.

The Mission is a volunteer-based homeless shelter that is always in need of high-quality, dedicated individuals and groups who want to experience God working among his people, and to play a part in the experience of providing change in lives. "Volunteer Tag Teams" are created to allow you to reach out and affect other's lives... and in the process, change your own! All volunteer candidates must agree to comply with all Mission rules and for The Mission of Yahweh to conduct a personal background check; a Volunteer Application is available on their website. They list many, many ways one can help, either onsite or through fundraising and special collections of needed items like clothing, toiletries, bibles, etc.

Go to their website for a Volunteer Application Form.

GLOBAL MISSIONS

HEARTS IN MOTION

Headquarters: 3319 W. 45th Avenue, Highland, IN 46322; Phone: 219-924-2446; Email: ; website: www.heartsinmotion.org

Contact: Marcia McGinnis, Texas Office, 281.684.9741.

The mission of Hearts In Motion is to provide care and medical treatment for children, families, and communities through its programs and sponsorships in the U.S., Central and South America. An additional goal is to provide opportunities for individuals to participate in short-term mission experiences. The impact of the trip experience on each team member is at least as great as the impact on the lives of the people we touch. Hearts In Motion works to complement resources already in place while respecting the culture of those whose lives it touches. Hearts In Motion accomplishes their goals with compassionate volunteers who unite their efforts and talents. HIM sends teams of volunteers medical professionals and lay persons to Guatemala and Honduras several times a year, to conduct surgeries, host free medical clinics, and to undertake construction projects, building day care and nutrition centers, improving schools and hospitals.

Near its main office in Highland, Indiana, HIM reaches and assists people in need through their resale shop – they donate “gift certificates” to homeless and women’s shelter residents and families who have lost their homes due to fire or natural disasters. They also have a food pantry that provides under-resourced families with groceries each week.

Volunteer opportunities for us in Fort Bend County include collections of supplies needed for the mission teams (vitamins, OTC medicines, eye glasses and readers, children’s shoes and clothing). Volunteers could also host fundraisers to assist the mission teams with their travel costs. Examples include the Hands and Hearts Foundation’ golf tournament in May, benefit events, craft or food sales, etc.

Volunteers are welcome to join the mission team – a Texas group travels during the last week of July each year. No special skills are required, just a heart to serve others in whatever capacity you can! Medical, dental and eye care professionals, craftsmen and other skilled persons and Spanish-speakers are also welcome. The Texas Office of HIM has taken the lead in the distribution of eyeglasses, readers and sunglasses at medical clinics, and seeks assistance in obtaining and shipping large quantities of eyeglasses to Guatemala. See Marcia McGinnis for further details. An application and release forms are attached and also available on the Hearts In Motion website.

KIDS AGAINGST HUNGER

5401 Boone Avenue North, New Hope, Minnesota 55428; Phone: (866) 654-0202, Local:(763) 257-0202; ; Website: www.feedingchildren.org

Closest Satellite: Kids Against Hunger – Livingston, - c/o First United Methodist Church, PO Box 1638, Livingston, TX 77351; Contact: Sue Nason, Phone: 936.328.3065.

Kids Against Hunger is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to significantly reduce the number of hungry children in the USA and to feed starving children throughout the world. This is being achieved by getting volunteers involved, by setting up food packaging satellites in the USA, and through partnerships with humanitarian organizations worldwide - enabling Kids Against Hunger to deliver its specially formulated rice-soy casserole to starving children and their families in more than 40 countries. The Kids Against Hunger network currently includes over 50 food packaging satellites across the United States and one in Canada.

40,000 children die every day from: Malnutrition, Starvation and Hunger-related diseases. Kids Against Hunger’s solution is a revolutionary food package that has been developed by some of the world's leading food scientists at Cargill, Pillsbury, General Mills and ADM. This one package provides six nutritionally complete servings to feed starving children around the world as well as the hungry here at home, and all for the low cost of 23 cents per serving.

Kids Against Hunger objectives are to:

• Create a national food packaging and distribution network of large regional packaging divisions and local packaging satellites.

• Package and deliver 100 million meals by 2010 to hungry children throughout the world through partnerships with humanitarian organizations of high integrity and capability.

Packaging the food is a wonderful, fulfilling way to feel that you are making a real difference! From the very young to senior citizens, any group can be involved in this process. On average, each volunteer packages close to two boxes of food in a two-hour session. At $0.23 per meal, that equals $80-$100 worth of ingredients. We want to give everyone the opportunity to package our meals, but the reality is that we must also cover the cost of the ingredients. They encourage each volunteer to raise at least $25 or more by asking their family, friends, and/or neighbors for support.

The closest satellite office to Fort Bend County is in Livingston, Texas. The Kids Against Hunger website includes a list of other satellites in the U.S. See Marcia McGinnis for information on becoming a distribution center. Go to their website for an expanded list of Volunteer Opportunities.

FEED THE CHILDREN

Mailing Address: PO Box 36, Oklahoma City, OK 73101; Phone: 1-800-627-4556; Direct: 405.945.4127; Website: www.feedthechildren.org; email for Truck Sponsorship: .

“It’s who we are. It’s what we do.”

Feed the Children is a Christian, international, nonprofit relief organization with headquarters in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, that delivers food, medicine, clothing and other necessities to individuals, children and families who lack these essentials due to famine, war, poverty, or natural disaster.

1. Through its Americans Feeding Americans Emergency Caravan™, Feed the Children has put a fleet of semi-tractor trailer trucks on the road to bring food and essentials to families suffering from the economic crisis. Because Feed The Children’s fleet of trucks are often the first relief agency to respond after a disaster. If you are interested in exploring the sponsorship and working to distribute food from one of these trucks, contact Bob Siegrist for more information at 281.701.6598 or .

2. You can help provide nutritious food to hungry boys and girls across the nation by becoming a member of Club 1000 through financial contributions, helping to end the pain of hunger for children in America.

3. Worldwide, Feed The Children helps many people who are in desperate need. Poverty, death, disease, and disasters wreak havoc in the lives of millions. Many times little children are the ones who suffer the most from these problems, and they are the ones most desperately in need.

Your group can make financial contributions as a one-time gift or on a monthly basis, or host a fundraising event for their benefit towards any of these programs. For further details, go to the Feed the Children website.

For further information or additional suggestions on ways you can serve others, contact Marcia McGinnis, Missions Coordinator, at 281.684.9741 or .

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